The UFC didn't start with weight classes or titles at all — its first event in 1993 was a single open-weight tournament, and the promotion didn't begin crowning champions by division until 1997. Each one came from a different sport and a different era, and their lives after the belt look nothing alike: some kept teaching, one became a Hollywood name, and one is still fighting through a string of serious health scares.

Royce Gracie — UFC 1, 1993 (open-weight tournament)

Before there were weight classes, there was one tournament bracket and one trophy. Royce Gracie, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who looked small next to the strikers and wrestlers he faced, won UFC 1 in November 1993 by submitting three opponents in one night and did it again at UFC 2 and UFC 4. He wasn't a "champion" in the belt-and-division sense the UFC later adopted — there was no title yet — but his wins are why grappling became mandatory knowledge in the sport rather than a sideshow. He was inducted as the first member of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2003 and, as of this year, has continued teaching Gracie jiu-jitsu and making public appearances, including a 2026 seminar stop in Thailand.

Mark Coleman — first UFC Heavyweight Champion, 1997

The UFC introduced its first two weight classes at UFC 12 in February 1997, and Mark Coleman, an NCAA wrestling standout, won the heavyweight title that night by submitting Dan Severn with a neck crank. His reign lasted 170 days before Maurice Smith took the belt at UFC 14. Coleman later became a UFC Hall of Famer, but 2026 has been difficult for him: he was hospitalized for smoke inhalation after pulling his parents from a house fire at their Ohio home, was later readmitted with pneumonia, and then hospitalized again for a septic hip infection that required emergency surgery. Reports describe him turning a corner after that surgery, but there's no confirmed update on his condition since.

Pat Miletich — first champion of the 170-pound division, 1998

The division fans now call welterweight didn't start with that name. When Pat Miletich won the inaugural title at UFC Brazil in October 1998 — a split decision over Mikey Burnett, after already winning a tournament at that weight — the UFC was calling it the lightweight title; the promotion didn't rename the 170-pound class "welterweight" until 2001. Miletich held the belt for more than two and a half years before losing it to Carlos Newton. These days he's back in combat sports in a different role: Scientific Wrestling named him president of its Shoot Pro Wrestling venture in January 2026, and he's spent years coaching other UFC fighters and calling fights as a commentator. He's also had public legal trouble, including an Iowa drunk-driving case. The title he once held now belongs to Islam Makhachev, who moved up from lightweight to win it.

Jens Pulver — first UFC Lightweight Champion, 2001

The modern 155-pound lightweight division is a separate thing from Miletich's old 170-pound "lightweight" title — the UFC shut the division down for a stretch and relaunched it fresh in 2001, and Jens Pulver won the first title in the new weight class that year, defending it twice before leaving the promotion. He retired from MMA in 2014 after a 47-fight career and was later inducted into the UFC's Hall of Fame pioneer wing. He's since worked in broadcasting for UFC's streaming coverage. The belt he once held is now around the waist of Justin Gaethje.

Demetrious Johnson — first UFC Flyweight Champion, 2012

"Mighty Mouse" won the inaugural 125-pound flyweight title at UFC 152 in September 2012 and defended it a division-record 11 times before losing it in 2018. He left the UFC, won and lost the ONE Championship flyweight title overseas, and announced his retirement from MMA at ONE 168 in September 2024 with a career record of 25-4-1. Since then he's stayed competitive in a different sport, entering Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments including IBJJF Masters and Pan Championship events, rather than coaching — he's said in interviews that staying off the road for fighters' camps matters more to him than a corner role. The flyweight belt itself is now held by Joshua Van.

Ronda Rousey — first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, 2012

Rousey's path to the UFC title was unusual: she won the Strikeforce women's bantamweight belt in March 2012, and when Strikeforce folded into the UFC the following winter, she was handed the equivalent UFC title outright rather than winning it in the cage. Her first fight as UFC champion — also the promotion's first women's bout — was a first-round armbar finish of Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 in February 2013. She lost the belt to Holly Holm in 2015, fought once more, and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018. In May 2026 she came out of a decade-long retirement for one fight at a Netflix MMA event, submitting Gina Carano in the opening seconds, then announced she was retiring from the sport again. The title she first held now belongs to Kayla Harrison, who defends it against a returning Amanda Nunes at UFC 334 this Saturday.

The takeaway

Every one of the UFC's current belts traces back to a first defender who was, in several cases, fighting under a division name or set of rules that no longer exists. Some of those original champions are still deeply connected to the sport — coaching, commentating, competing in jiu-jitsu — while others are better known now for health battles or a single, brief comeback decades later. The belts outlive the eras they were created in, which is part of why a current champion's reign always gets measured against a chain of names most fans never saw fight.